Virtual reality takes gaming to a whole new frontier

We’ve conquered Earth and space, making virtual reality the true last frontier. Sony has penetrated this frontier by pioneering one of the very first virtual reality systems, Project Morpheus, which will be paired with the PlayStation 4.

Virtual reality has been a core concept of science fiction for decades, and authors have explored both its beneficial and detrimental sides. A virtual reality gaming system could revolutionize the way people experience video games.

Unveiled March 18 at the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Morpheus promises a 90-degree field of vision and physical interaction with both the objects in game and the gamer’s body.

The system is located inside a sleekly designed black-and-white headset that emits a light-blue LED glow and resembles a heavy pair of ski goggles. It uses full 360-degree movement tracking from the PlayStation 4 camera to direct the player’s field of vision. Its “open-air” design is supposed to keep the lenses from fogging up by keeping a steady supply of air flowing around them.

Although the headset must be wired into the PlayStation, the wire is nearly 5 meters, allowing players to move around naturally. Future versions may be able to go wireless.

The graphics are currently at a resolution of 1080p, or similar to the resolution of an HD television. The system also features surround-sound that changes based on head movement, ensuring that the audio for each game will match up with the visuals. If a gamer prefers headphones, he or she can plug them directly into the system.

Sony is working with a plethora of game developers to create full immersion into those games, the dream of every gamer.

Currently there is no release date for Morpheus, and the system prototypes are available only to certain developers. However, Sony seems confident that the system will be accepted and even lauded by developers as a unique, ultramodern concept.

Predictions from Gamesbeat indicate that the system also will be a huge commercial success when it’s released to the public, although it doesn’t yet come with a confirmed price tag.

Even with the ostentatious name Morpheus — the Greek god of dreams and sleep and maybe also a not-so-subtle reference to the character of the same name in the Matrix — this system seems highly likely to live up to the hype surrounding virtual reality. Gamers won’t fully enter the computer, as in “Tron,” but it’s probably as close as they’ll ever get.

Now if someone invents an intravenous version of Mountain Dew and Doritos, gamers will never have to leave the couch.

Quincy Balius is an eighth-grader at Lady of Lourdes and is a member of the Tribune’s Teen Panel.